You may remember from my first blog that one of the things I am most excited about during my time in Australia is doing research with frogs. In fact, many of my friends and family may be rolling their eyes right now because I have talked about it so much. This is only the beginning.
Today, I met Dr. Jodi Rowley of the Australian Museum and UNSW!
posing with one of the frog stuffed animals in her office
(just herpetologist things…)
August 27, 2019
Several months ago, when I was looking for a possible mentor/lab for the research component of my program at UNSW, I was star-struck when I read about Dr. Jodi Rowley. Senior lecturer at UNSW and curator for the Australian Museum, Dr. Rowley travels the world documenting biodiversity and leads the FrogID project aimed to encourage citizen science and conservation using Australia’s first national frog count.
I agonized over sending the perfect email introduction asking to work in Dr. Rowley’s lab, all the while assuming that I wouldn’t even make it onto her radar and would never get a reply.
A week or so later, my assumption had been wonderfully proven wrong. In my inbox was an email from Dr. Rowley, apologizing for a delayed response (due to traveling the world in search of new frog species nonetheless) and presenting the possibility of working in her lab. In shock, I was so thankful for my determination to write a message worthy of Dr. Rowley’s time and courage to actually send it.
Today, four months after that initial email correspondence, I was still nervous. Will the lab team like me? Do I really get to work at the Australian Museum? Am I dreaming?
By meeting with Dr. Rowley today, I was reminded to have confidence in myself, my previous experience, and my goals. I sat across from a pioneering, prolific herpetologist and was complimented on my science communication skills (I did a mental happy-dance).
a specimen of which caught my eye at the museum today 🙂
It’s nerve-wracking to see people as their accomplishments, but finally meeting Dr. Rowley in person reminded me that scientists are just people too, and in fact, I am a nascent one myself. I’m glad for this reminder so I may carry this confidence into my graduate school applications, which I’ll actually be sending off during my time down under. Moreover, I cannot wait to get started on meaningful science with a constructive mentor.
Living and Learning Down Under 